This time period is just prior to my favorite research era, England in 1495-1503 (when Elizabeth of York, Henry VII's queen, was on the throne and fashion was in transition between the gown you cite and the styles of Henry VIII).
I have not attempted to make a gown quite like this one, but I have hunted for images. There pretty much AREN'T any. Either they were destroyed, or they never existed. I can send you one gem of an image from Writhe's Garter Book. It is black and white, but crisp, and shows a noble woman from the side, so you have an excellent view of the gown (with a clear waist seam) the back of the collar (with an interesting -- not smoothly rounded -- shape in the back down her spine), her cuffs (presumably fur) and hat (not matching the cuffs) plus a faint idea of some jewelry around her neck, and a clear view of her belt and attached pomander. According to a history of illumination book (sorry, can't find my notes with author or title right now...grrr....) there were no illuminators working in England during that span of time who painted books of hours or other devotional materials -- the illuminations from which we can glean useful costume ideas. The English painters only did things like charters and rolls of arms (no people on them) -- all devotional materials were imported from the continent. I also haven't found portraits except the one you mention. I know that memorial brasses are hard to use to design costume, but I've collected lots of images of those, and my interpretation of them is that the hatch lines on the collars and hems indicated fur. Look at the man's gown in the third image you link -- it appears to me that his outer garment is fur lined, and toward the bottom the edges turn back so that you can see that fur. The hatch marks there look like the marks on the woman's collar. Based on the histories of Memorial Brasses that I've read (this time I have references! see Monumental Brasses as Art and History edited by Jerome Bertram) brasses in this era were purchased not by the most elite nobility -- they more often bought carved tombs and effigies -- but were bought by the more wealthy gentry and less fortunate noble families. Presumably they represented their best dress. Being England, where wool was a source of patriotic pride, I would venture the guess that wool is highly appropriate for the gown, and that fur is the best collar but a fancy silk velvet brocade might be acceptable if you were, say, Elizabeth of Woodville. I suspect that the silk you have would be best employed on the hat itself. Challe On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 8:01 AM, Elizabeth W <elizabeth.r.walp...@gmail.com> wrote: > > I'm seeking images of mid to late 15th century (Yorkist or early Henry VII > era) women's clothing in England > Thus far the only portrait I've found is Elizabeth Woodville > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ElizabethWoodville.JPG I like that > slightly rounded neckline and the contrasting collar but I'm hoping to try > for something that would be more plausible lower down the social scale e.g. > gentry level best dress > I've found some brass rubbings e.g. > http://www.mbs-brasses.co.uk/page245.html > http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1406326 > http://professor-moriarty.com/info/section/church-monument-art/15th-century-church-monuments-thomas-andrewes-brass-church-charwelton-no > but they don't really help with fabric choice. I'm trying to find more > examples so that I can work out if Elizabeth Woodville's use of a plain > fabric for the gown and a fancier fabric for the collar and cuffs is normal > or an anomaly and especially if matching her mini hennin to the collar and > cuffs is normal (as I've got about 1/2 yd of silk which should just cover > the collar and cuffs but won't manage the hat as well) > > -- > ------------------------------------------ > Elizabeth Walpole > http://magpiecostumer.wordpress.com/ > http://magpiecostumer.110mb.com/ > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > h-costume@mail.indra.com > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
